Why MCU Star Chris Pratt Gained Over 60 Pounds for This Film
Marvel star Chris Pratt is known for many roles including Peter Quill/Star-Lord of Guardians of the Galaxy, the lovable Andy Dwyer from Parks and Rec, and Owen Grady of the Jurassic World franchise. The actor has physically transformed himself to adapt to a variety of characters, which has sometimes involved a fluctuating waist line.
Pratt decided to put on the pounds for this 2013 comedy, co-starring alongside Vince Vaughn.
Chris Pratt played a single dad in ‘Delivery Man’ before heading to the Marvel Cinematic Universe
In Delivery Man, Pratt portrayed Vaughn’s buddy Brett, a depressed lawyer whose wife just left him. With Brett having to raise four kids on his own while trying to heal from the hurt of his runaway spouse, Pratt felt the harried dad would most likely neglect personal wellness due to sadness and lack of time.
“He is despondent, depressed,” Pratt described his character. “Really at the end of his rope. Buried in the responsibility of having four children. … He’s really just in a bad spot.”
The Jurassic World star set a goal to reach 300 pounds – his final tally was 295 – to realistically illustrate how depression and stress can have a physical impact. Pratt saw the change as a personal challenge, and one that could provide more insight to his character.
“I just like to gain weight and lose weight,” he told Vulture in 2012. “It’s a rollercoaster. I just want to do this.”
Marvel star Chris Pratt said he gained ‘sympathy weight’
Married to Anna Faris at the time of filming Delivery Man, Pratt explained that his appetite increased when Faris was pregnant with their son, Jack.
“The way you put on 60 pounds is… well, the way I did it, the first 20 pounds was sympathy weight because my wife was pregnant,” he told SheKnows in 2013. “I was gaining weight as she was gaining weight. It’s a phenomenon — it happens to a lot of men. They eat the same things their wife is eating… So I gained about 25 of it like that.”
Pratt revealed how he gained the additional weight for his character, where he utilized some basic strategies.
“The other 35 I did just by declaring that I was going to do it,” he shared. “I said, ‘I’m going to gain weight for this movie.’ So my rule of thumb became: If it’s there, eat it. And then I would order two entrees at every meal. I would always have dessert, and I would drink the darkest beer on the menu.”
‘Jurassic World’s’ Chris Pratt now prefers to stay in shape
Pratt’s sitcom role as Andy on Parks & Rec also required him to have the scale at a higher number. After seesawing in his weight for awhile, the Jurassic World star decided he needed to maintain a healthy physique.
“I’d gone back and forth, lost weight for Moneyball, got fat again, then trimmed down for Zero Dark Thirty, then gained it all back again for Andy,” Pratt told Men’s Health UK in 2015, according to Entertainment Tonight. “I was impotent, fatigued, emotionally depressed. I had real health issues that were affecting me in a major way. It’s bad for your heart, your skin, your system, your spirit.”
His desire to land the Guardians of the Galaxy role gave Pratt the motivation he needed to slim down. Now married to Katherine Schwarzenegger, the actor credits the simple combo of regular exercise and nutrition for staying on the path of wellness.
“If you cut the crap out of your diet and spend an hour a day doing something physical, you’ll feel better mentally, physically, and spiritually, because it’s all tied together,” Pratt told Men’s Health Australia in 2019. “Honestly, there’s no trick or secret to it. It’s about getting after it and being patient and consistent. And it’s not about starving yourself, because you want to give your body proper nutrition – think about who you want to be in six months or eight months or two years’ time, whatever it is.”
